Even with his struggles in the postseason, Joe Girardi will not move Aaron Judge from his spot in the lineup for Game 3 on Monday.(AP)

NEW YORK - The Yankees are back home after losing the first two games of the American League Championship Series, and when the lineup comes out for Game 3 sometime Monday afternoon, it's likely to still contain Aaron Judge in the second spot and Gary Sanchez hitting cleanup.

That's a non-story most days, but after both went 0-for-4 in Game 2, Judge is 2-for-27 with five walks and 19 strikeouts in the seven games of the ALDS and ALCS so far, while Sanchez is 4-for-30 with one base on balls and 15 strikeouts in the same span.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi has shuffled his lineup at times this postseason to split up lefties and righties evenly, but in this case, he's not looking to make a change based on performance right now.

"I'm going to stick with the same lineup because things can turn really quickly," Girardi said. "There are a lot of guys that struggle in the postseason. That's just what it is. If you just start moving people around trying to play a hot hand, it doesn't necessarily work. They will get back on track."

Girardi was asked after Game 2 if he thought either was pressing, but he simply attributed it to the many facets of the nature of October.

"I think they're seeing a lot of good pitching, they're making pitches on these kids," the skipper said. "And, they don't have a ton of familiarity with these pitchers outside of our division, but part of that is being young, because you don't have 20 at bats against a guy. Are they maybe trying a little bit too hard? Yeah, of course, but I think everyone out there's probably trying a little bit too hard."

"I've missed pitches that I should've been hitting, and there are some bad pitches that I've swung at. Those are the adjustments that I have to make," Sanchez added when asked the same question. "I'm not trying to do too much; when you go out there to hit, the focus is always the same. Right now I'm not getting the results I want, but I'm confident in myself that I'll be able to contribute moving forward."

Joe also wasn't worried about the fact that more than half of the pair's plate appearances have ended in a strikeout, the most unproductive of all outcomes.

"I think part of it is that the guys they're facing are making good pitches, and part of it is you can get a little off sometimes," Girardi said. "I don't think Aaron has lost being patient. Maybe Gary has chased a little more, but Gary's a guy that we know can turn it around and get locked in quick."

Girardi has been asked about Judge's struggles at length over the last week or so, but his confidence level has remained the same every time he's answered a question about his right fielder.

"He's a bright kid and he makes adjustments along the fly and he's working on stuff, so I am confident in him," Girardi said Friday. "Pitchers are making really good pitches on him and they know they have to be careful, so I'm going to credit the pitching. We have not seen a lot of mistakes on him, because they understand what happens, but he's grinding out at-bats."

It may be a shock to the system to see someone who slugged .627 in the regular season carry an OPS lower than that number in October, but the numbers don't necessarily tell the whole story.

"Everybody wants to hit 1.000; I don't think anyone in here is satisfied with their stats," Judge said matter-of-factly. "Right now, we just have to make the adjustments and keep working hard."

That's really all anyone can do, but there are two things that Judge, Sanchez, and all young players will eventually learn about October: everything is magnified in the postseason, even though everything about the game is, in theory, harder.

"There have been a lot of great hitters who have struggled in their first few postseasons before they figure it out and have a big one," Girardi said, "and I think if a guy goes 2-for-20 in the regular season you don't think much of it; it's part of the ups and downs of being a hitter."

Until then, Girardi is understanding of the learning curve, even if he hopes it's a quick one.

"I feel good about them. We've counted on them all year, we believe in them, and we think they're going to come out of it."